


I See What's Mine And Take It

by Closeted_Calliope



Category: Trolls (Movies 2016 2020), Trolls: The Beat Goes On (Cartoon)
Genre: Characters to be added as needed, Evil Creek AU by hickoppy on tumblr, F/F, creek is a very toxic person so major trigger warning there, creek is like gaston from beauty and the beast but worse, if you like creek too bad dont read this im gonna make him worse, like he's gonna get very bad, platonic broppy moments for the win babey, pop zombies, takes place in a non twt timeline, there will parb eventually it just takes a while to get there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:34:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28905684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Closeted_Calliope/pseuds/Closeted_Calliope
Summary: After months of being stranded out in the wilderness, Creek returns, but there's something...offabout him. He reveals something about his birthright, claiming his bloodline to be the true royal line of trolls. And, like a fool, Poppy relinquishes her crown.Now it's up to Poppy, Branch, Cooper, and all sorts of different trolls they never even knew existed to find a way to stop Creek from destroying life as they know it.
Relationships: Branch & Queen Poppy (Trolls), Queen Barb/Queen Poppy (Trolls)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 36





	1. Done my Time and Served my Sentence

**Author's Note:**

> So tumblr user @hickoppy came up with this AU, and as with just about every cool idea for a trolls fic i come across, I had to write something for it. It probably won't be a 100% faithful interpretation of what they're planning, but I think everyone will still like this a lot (unless you're like a Creek stan or something) Also the story and chapter titles are from Emperor's New Clothes by Panic! At The Disco (I know Brendon Urie is a garbage human being, but like, so is Creek lol) Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!!!!!

Creek pulled himself out of the teeth of that hill creature, panting heavily and dragging himself across the ground before collapsing in a heap.

That was, by far, the worst thing he ever had to go through.

Sure, jumping on that Chef broad and utilizing his hair in order to escape the stomach had been relatively easy, but shimmying his way out of the esophagus? That whole wrestling match with the teeth? Struggling to pull his way out of a pair of jaws that refused to open? 

Now that had been rough.

He rolled onto his back with a groan. He supposed he would have to figure out a plan on what to do now; there was no way he'd be allowed back into Troll Village, and living out here wasn't exactly viable either, considering he wasn't a survival freak like Branch.

Creek grimaced at the very thought of him. _Branch_.

That killjoy made curling Poppy and the others around his finger so much harder, because right when he'd have them under his charismatic spell, he'd swoop in and make some edgy comment, taking all the attention off himself. Genuinely, Branch really was the worst.

With a sigh, Creek pulled his aching body to his feet and began walking without any real aim or direction.

Minutes passed, hours, days, and quite frankly Creek got tired of his little routine fairly quickly; het get up from whatever ditch he'd slept in, he'd walk all day, stopping for water and food occasionally, and keep walking until he felt like he was going to collapse, finding another ditch to sleep in.

It got repetitive very quickly, and he was almost certain he was walking around in circles. How else would he have traveled this far and not run into a single troll?

Eventually, days after his daring escape from the clutches of that monster, he found himself at the end of the forest. Just outside, a patchwork desert sat in front of him. There were cactuses and cows as far as the eye could see. 

Creek couldn't help but gape at as he sat down; he'd never seen a landscape quite like it before. In fact, he was starting to realize that he really hadn't left Troll Village in all twenty-odd years of his being.

"Take a picture, bud, it'll last longer."

Creek let out a terrified screech as his eyes frantically darted around, looking for the source of the voice. His eyes landed on a troll- at least, he thought it was a troll- carrying a sort of covered wagon behind him.

To say the troll was unlike anything Creek had ever seen before was an understatement. For starters, he had such a dull color palette: all cool reds and yellows, warm greens and oranges, and lots of browns and beiges. He was dressed up the way a stereotypical cowboy was dressed (Creek didn't know that trolls genuinely thought that was a cool way to dress). But most striking of all, he found, was the fact that this troll, rather than a standard two legs, had four hooved legs attached to what could only be described as a horselike body.

"Wh-Who are you?" Creek stammered. "Or rather, _what_ are you?"

The strange troll narrowed his eyes, and Creek gulped.

"You know, we country folk don't much appreciate being made a fool of, boy," he drawled.

_Time to whip out the Creek Charm_ , he supposed.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, I had no intention of offending you, sir," Creek insisted apologetically. "I only ask because, well, I can't say I've ever seen a troll quite as handsome as you."

The stranger's eyes widened, before he looked away bashfully, chuckling, "Well, shucks, you sure know how to flatter a troll, son."

Creek gave as best a polite bow as he could manage from his seated position on the ground, replying, "It's what I do best."

The stranger unhooked himself from his wagon, which Creek realized he'd been pulling himself, and sat down beside him, folding his many legs underneath him. "So, what brings you 'round these parts, stranger?"

Creek sighed. "I think I've been banished from my community?"

"Huh, that's a darn shame. I'd invite you to come back with me, but the country trolls aren't exactly known for their hospitality-"

"Alright, that's the second time you've mentioned that. What's a country troll?"

The stranger seemed taken aback. "You mean, you really don't know?"

"I think I've made that pretty clear, yes."

"Well, shoot, I didn't think I'd ever meet someone without a single idea about the tribes-"

"Tribes as in plural? There's more than just one?"

Humming, the stranger thought about what he'd said, then stumbled to his feet with an idea. "Now you just wait there for a moment," He commanded, trotting back to his cart. Creek watched as he moved around a bunch of....scrapbooks?.... inside of the cart. Before long the stranger trotted back, a dull yellow scrapbook in hand.

"This here is a history book, tells all about the six troll tribes and how they came to be as they are now."

Creek took the book, a little stunned by the kind gesture. He began to thank, "Wow, your generosity is-"

"Don't bother, it's what I do." The stranger chucked his thumb over his shoulder at the wagon and clarified, "I travel the land with this here cart of books, just looking for some poor souls that could use a good read. It ain't much, I'll be the first to admit, but it's honest work."

Creek genuinely couldn't find it in himself to care about this guy's life mission or whatever, but still he complimented, "Well, that's very commendable of you. I wish you the best on your journey, Mr....?"

"Doug, Doug Barrelskin," the stranger introduced, reattaching himself to his cart. "And you are?"

"Creek."

"Thanks for the conversation, Creek, I suppose," Doug thanked him with a tip of his hat, beginning to trek off into the desert. 

"Thank you for the book," Creek responded, opening the book and peering at its contents.

Creek would spend the next several hours poring over the pages of that book. The first time he read through it, he was so shocked and angry that the pop trolls, his own tribe, had kept this hidden for so long, that he wanted to make sure he absorbed all this information out of pure spite.

He reread the story of how pop trolls grew too powerful for their own good and he would watch as the little paper leaders of the other tribes grabbed their strings and ran away. 

He would go over the histories of the different tribes over and over again, not wanting to miss a single detail.

And most often of all, he'd stare at the picture of the former leader of the pop trolls. He was so familiar that it hurt. Blue hair, pinkish-purple skin, there was no way it could be a coincidence, could it?

He'd contemplate it for hours, going back and forth with himself, to the point of obsession over it. _There's no way that this could possibly be my ancestor, could it? But the resemblance is so uncanny! Surely there must have been a deviance in the royal lineage!_

And that's when he saw the page on the strings. He'd read it over multiple times, but this time was different. Yes, this time, when he saw it, the pieces clicked together in his brain.

He could accomplish what his ancestor had failed at.

He could have the power and control to rule over the entirety of trolldom.

A devilish grin spread across his face with a snicker.

He knew exactly how he could complete this mission.

It would just take a little assistance from his beloved Poppy.

But first, of course, he would have to wait until the time was right.


	2. Taking Back The Crown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Creek returns to Troll- uh, Pop Village. Poppy feels very conflicted about seeing him again, and tries to keep her emotions in check when talking to him again. That is, until he makes a disturbing request.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk if people actually like this but like, the creator of the au does so im gonna keep going lol. Creek is gonna be a creepy toxic douchebag so fair heads up to people who are sensitive to that kind of stuff. ALSO if you romanticize the way Creek acts in this story im going to repossess your kneecaps and remove your internet privileges.

It was a calm, cool night in Troll- oh shoot, Pop Village. 

_I really have to get better about remembering that_ , Creek thought as she crept through the desolate streets of his former home.

He checked his scrapbook, his lifeline at this point, to remind him of what he was looking for: the pop string.

Wandering towards the tree Poppy's pod hung from, he began feeling around on the tree, hoping for a button, a hidden entrance, anything that might lead to finding the string. It couldn't have been hidden far from the royal family, he figured.

Suddenly, his hand passed through what seemed to be a wall of leafy vines, arranged so closely together on first glance they could be mistaken as just another solid section of the tree. 

Creek grinned. It _had_ to be this way.

Quietly, cautiously, he made his way down a short corridor, reaching an open little room. It was actually quite beautiful; vines hanging from the ceiling, massive flowers sprouting from a sort of water pool, a stained glass window that allowed the moonlight to seep inside small room, and a waterfall covering the far wall. 

He slowly made his way down the hilly pathway, wary of anyone that could possibly stop by and find him. Stepping up the mushroom steps, he reached his hand out to the waterfall.

The waterfall parted upon his reach, startling him and revealing an intricate ivory lyre. Placed inside, amongst five empty holes was a single pink sparkling string.

Creek couldn't help but gape at it. He had no idea that something so beautiful, yet so powerful, could exist. Not thinking, he reached out and plucked the string.

A big burst of glittery music burst forth, the faint sound of pop music echoing in the small room.

Grabbing the lyre, a sadistic grin crawled across Creek's face.

This was it. This was the tool he'd use to have all of trolldom at his command and get Poppy to see how truly great he really could be.

And tomorrow, it would all come together.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Poppy sighed contently from her perch in the tree as she watched the clouds drift by above her. Normally, she would be bombarded with queenly duties, but it was nice to have a spare moment to herself like this. 

It had been a little over a year and a half since making peace with the Bergens, and life had never felt happier! Parties had gotten bigger, hugs had gotten tighter, and trolls had felt safer now that the threat of being eaten had been diminished.

Poppy closed her eyes, feeling like everything was right with the world. It might've taken a while, but she felt like her work as queen was finally starting to pay off.

"Poppy!!!"

Her eyes shot open and she looked downward, finding a very concerned Branch racing up to meet her. He looked worried, which was nothing new, in all honesty, but behind that worry she could see just the slightest hint of anger.

As Branch stumbled beside her, struggling to catch his breath, she asked, "Branch, what's wrong? What happened?"

"It's Creek," He panted, "he's back."

Poppy's heart pounded. "C-Creek?"

Branch nodded solemnly.

To say Poppy hadn't though of Creek since he'd been sent off in Chef's fanny pack, on fire, out of Bergen Town, never to been again wasn't exactly true. She'd spent many a night tossing and turning in her bed after waking up from a terrible nightmare where he'd once again willingly give up the lives of her people to save his own skin. More often than not, however, she'd find herself pondering on how things might have been if he'd stood up for what was right rather than stab his friends in the back at the first sign of trouble.

She couldn't help but wonder if all those things he did with them before, all the fun they had and the secrets they shared, if it even meant anything to him.

She managed to push these thoughts away with a shake of her head. "Did-Did he say what he wants?"

"No, he just said that he wants to meet with you in the middle of town," Branch sighed. "I'm not sure if you should meet him, though. He could be planning something."

Poppy considered this. Considering what had happened with the Bergens, that was very possible, and for once Branch's constant paranoia was well-warranted here. 

Still, she pointed out, "But he also said he wants to meet in the middle of town, right? Maybe if he was planning something, he would've wanted less of an audience to see it?"

Branch didn't seem to convinced. "I don't think this a good idea, Poppy."

Poppy rose to her feet and started walking along the branch, grimacing, "I know, but I still think we should go. I want to know why he decided to come back, after all this time, after what he's done. I promise I'll be careful about it."

Branch sighed in defeat, but followed her regardless. If he couldn't stop Poppy from seeing Creek, he could at least be there to try and keep her safe.

They weren't all that far from the middle of town, maybe a five minute walk away, but to Poppy it felt like hours. 

She couldn't help but overthink about why Creek had returned. Was he here to apologize? Did he want to live here again? Did he bring back Chef? And why come back now, of all times?

A rough but warm hand wrapping around her own pulled her out of her head. She looked over to see Branch, giving her a reassuring smile and her hand a light squeeze.

Poppy managed to return the smile, squeezing his hand back in response.

It wasn't long before they reached the middle of Troll Village, where a large crowd had gathered, though they had distanced themselves greatly from one troll in particular.

Creek. It really was him. He was dirty and battered and bruised but that hair, that smirk, those hands that used to 'boop' her nose so lovingly, they were all undeniably his.

Noticing their hands entwined, Creek couldn't help but scowl at the sight. It only lasted a moment, however, before a warm smile graced his face once more.

 _Nothing that can't be fixed later,_ he thought.

A few paces away, Poppy stopped, letting go of Branch and crossing her arms with the most serious face she could muster. "Hello, Creek," she stated, her voice scarily lacking in emotion.

Creek grinned, falling to one knee in a sort of bow. "Oh, it's so great to see you again, Princess Poppy-"

"It's Queen Poppy now, actually."

"Hmm?"

Poppy repeated, "I'm the queen now. I got coronated after we made peace with the Bergens. Of course, you would know this if you hadn't sold us out to save yourself." Poppy's cold eyes pierced into Creek's skull.

Gulping, Creek replied, "Y-Yes, and that was so incredibly wrong of me, I have now realized, and I'm deeply sorry. However, that's not why I've come back-"

"Oh yeah? Then what is?" Branch snapped, taking a threatening step closer.

Poppy stuck her arm out to keep him from getting to close, assuring him, "Branch, it's ok."

Creek stood up, brushing the dust off him (not that it did much in his dirty state). "Thank you, Pri- uh, Queen Poppy. I will admit that I've come for one reason and one reason only."

"And what would that be, Creek?"

Creek grinned nastily. "I want your crown."

Poppy was taken aback. "M-My crown?!?"

A wave of shock and anger traveled its way throughout the crowd of trolls. They couldn't believe that someone who had essentially given them up to die would have the audacity to say such a thing to their beloved queen!

Branch almost immediately pulled a hand-whittled stick out of his hair and jumped in front of Poppy, holding the stick out defensively. "What kind of stupid question is that? She's not gonna just give you her crown, you idiot!"

"Hang on a second, Branch," Poppy interrupted his anger with a hand on his shoulder. "I want to see where he's going with this."

Branch turned and looked at Poppy, incredulous. "Are you kidding me? But what if he-"

"You heard the queen, Branch, please allow me to finish first," Creek sneered. Branch groaned and rolled his eyes, but withdrew his weapon and stepped aside.

With a satisfied nod, Creek reached into his hair and pulled out the yellow scrapbook. he began to explain, "You see, during my exile, I had a lot of time to consider what I'd done to you all. I also traveled around quite a bit, and you'll never guess what I discovered!"

He opened up the scrapbook to a pop up page that astounded the crowd; a series of six different troll forms, most of which were very different than their own. 

"This scrapbook was given to me by a kind stranger outside of Troll Village, and he taught me that we aren't the only kind of troll there is! In fact, we are only one of six primary troll tribes!"

As the crowd mumbled amongst themselves at this new revelation, Poppy caught the eye of someone in the crowd: former king Peppy. He looked terrified at this information coming to light, and when he caught his daughter's gaze, his face fell and her heart sank as she realized that this was true; he just decided not to tell her.

"We," Creek continued, "are the members of a faction known as the pop trolls," he pointed out the figure that looked most like them, "but there are also Country, Funk, Techno, Classical, and Rock trolls. They listen to music so drastically different from ours, why, I'm not sure I could even begin to explain it."

"Okay, okay, okay, not that this isn't all _fascinating_ ," Branch grouched, very obviously not fascinated in the slightest, "but how does this result in you having the rights to the crown?"

Creek grinned, and it caused something inside of Branch to tense up like never before. Sure, he never liked Creek, he had been adamantly vocal about that for years now, but something in his stare had changed for the worse. He couldn't quite describe it, but it sent chills down his spine regardless.

"Thanks for bringing that up, Branch. I was actually going to explain! You see, when I first started reading this book, I simply found it a fascinating read. But then, i noticed something about one of the early depictions of the leader of the pop trolls."

He flipped to another page, which represented the leaders of the tribes. The other troll tribes' leaders were still strange and unusual and foreign to the eyes of the inhabitants of Troll Village, but there was something familiar about the pop tribe's former leader.

Ombre blue-green hair and pinkish-purple skin.

"I mean," Creek commented, his voice full of implication, "it's not difficult to see the resemblance, now, is it?"

"Okay, hold on," Branch interrupted, his voice growing angrier with each sentence Creek spoke, "Even if you _are_ somehow the descendant of this former troll ruler, if they even existed, that is, I mean, for all we know, you could've made this whole 'troll tribe' thing up and be, once again, trying to manipulate us into doing what you want!" 

Creek scowled, but Branch continued on, "But even if this all were real, why should Poppy give her crown up so a backstabber like you can just waltz in out of nowhere and take everything over? I mean, even if you _weren't_ a two-timing slime that screwed us all over just to save yourself, what gives you the right to take Poppy's hard work right from under her feet?"

Poppy, who'd been in silent conflict for a while, piped up with agreement, "Yeah, Creek, like I'm sorry that your bloodline is no longer ruling and stuff, but this is a lot to consider, and you haven't given us a lot of reason to trust you."

Creek sighed defeatedly. 

Branch smirked, but then Creek started talking again.

"You know, Poppy, I didn't want things to have to come to this," he said apologetically, tossing the scrapbook to the side, "but I'm afraid you've left me no choice."

He reached into his hair and pulled out the lyre.

"The string?!?!?!" Former King Peppy cried out in shock as he pushed his way through the crowd, stumbling into the clearing with his daughter, Branch and Creek. 

Creek smirked. "Surprised, aren't we?"

"How-How did you even- No one here should even know about the string's existence!" Peppy stammered.

A sinking feeling fell into Poppy's chest. "Dad, what's going on? What's so important about this 'string'?"

Creek chuckled condescendingly, "Oh, that's right, you never bothered to tell anyone about the importance of the strings because of your own cowardice."

'You're one to be talking, traitor," Branch growled, preparing his stick for attack.

Ignoring him, Creek continued, walking around and addressing the crowd "Well you see, my fellow trolls, the strings are what controls all of our music, and without it, our music would, to put it simply, cease to exist. It also happens to be one of the most powerful objects in all of trolldom. Why, you may ask? Well, for starters, it can do _THIS_!!!" He strummed down on the single string of the lyre, aiming it at whatever troll was unlucky enough to be in his way.

That troll happened to be Biggie, who barely had time to clutch Mr. Dinkles tightly in fear as the ray of music hit him. He careened backwards, taking a few steps back before falling flat on his back. 

"Biggie!!!" Poppy started to run for him but Branch grabbed her arm and held her back.

"Poppy, look....."

Biggie lied on the ground motionless for a few moments, and then out of nowhere, he lurched into a sitting position.

For the most part, he _looked_ fine, but then trolls saw the far too pleasant grin on his face, and noticed disturbing overeagerness in his now glowing pink eyes.

Poppy couldn't help but stare. "Wha... What did you do to him?!?!?" She managed to choke out.

Smirking, Creek replied smugly, "Oh nothing too bad, I assure you. He's simply been placed under a spell of my own creation. I assure you, he wasn't injured in the process; in fact, the only thing that's really different about him is that he is now devoted to serving my every need. For all intents and purposes, you could call him a sort of zombie."

Speechless, Poppy couldn't help but glare at him, horrified. 

Branch retook his defensive position in front of Poppy and shouted, "Turn him back, you creep!"

"Oh, but of course," Creek purred, "I would be delighted to..... so long as I receive the crown first."

An uneasy chatter swam through the crowd and Poppy's face grew hard, her eyes pricking with tears. Shaking, she slowly began to remove the crown from atop her head.

"Poppy, no! Are you insane!?!?" Branch asked frantically as he desperately tried to pull her hands away from her crown. "We don't even know if he's telling the truth-!"

Creek pointed the lyre at Branch with a wicked grin and wild eyes. "Ah, ah, ah," he chided in a singsong voice, "you wouldn't want to do that now, Branch."

"Stop it, both of you," Poppy commanded, stepping in front of Branch. "If that's what it takes to get you to let Biggie go," she took an unsteady breath, "then so be it."

She lifted the crown off of her head, taking a moment to gaze wistfully at it for a moment. This crown had served her well over the past year and a half, and she truly didn't want to do this. In fact, every fiber of her being was telling her not to follow through, to find another option. 

But she also knew that this wasn't just about her, and she couldn't help but worry what would happen to her people, her friends, her dad, if she didn't comply with this. Creek had become very powerful since he'd been gone, and as headstrong as she was, this was a battle she knew she couldn't win through singing and hugging.

"And no one else has to get.... zombified?"

"You have my word."

Creek watched with delight as Poppy slowly walked over to him, refusing to look him in the eye. She stopped a few paces away and held out her crown with trembling hands.

He smirked, sauntered his way over, and ever-so-delicately removed the crown from her grasp. 

"There we are, now that wasn't so hard now, was it?" He mused, running a gentle hand down the side of a frozen Poppy's face, making sure to 'boop' her nose for extra flair. 

Poppy shuddered at his touch. Had his hands always been that cold...?

As he placed the crown atop his own head and turned towards his new people, who were collectively too stunned to do much about what they were witnessing, Branch came up from behind Poppy and grabbed her hand, whispering, "Poppy, we gotta go, like, _now_."

"Branch, I-"

"I know you did what he asked, but Creek's never been an honest man and I don't think he's going to just let us go while he still has that string. We need to leave now while we still have the choice to."

Poppy's face paled as she realized how right Branch was. Her gaze drifted to her father, who simply gave a solemn nod. She took a step back, then another, then bolted for the woods. Branch took a step to follow after her, then noticed the yellow scrapbook laying forgotten on the ground. Thinking fast, he snatched it up with his hair before racing to follow after Poppy.

"HEY!!"

As Creek finished basking in the glory of the pop trolls, he noticed a group of trolls angrily walking towards him. And wouldn't you know it, it was the Snack Pack, his old friend group. Minus Biggie, for obvious reasons, of course.

Smidge snarled at him, "You think we're just gonna follow you just because you wear a crown now? Poppy's still our queen, and you're an even bigger fool than I thought if you think for a second that our loyalty to her is wavering!"

Creek snickered maniacally at her words, and Smidge could feel a pit forming in her stomach.

"Oh, Smidge, you crack me up, I've always liked that about you, you know." Creek pulled out the lyre and pointed it at his former friends, who all took a step back in fear. "It's really a shame we won't get to hear your jokes again, at least not _your_ jokes."

"B-But you told Poppy no one else would get zombified!" Guy cried out, worried for the still-maturing egg that was hidden in his hair.

Creek smirked. "I lied."

And then he began strumming ferociously.

Poppy could hear the sounds of her people screaming, of them being blasted by Creek's power, their cries of terror coming to a sickening halt with each one he hit, but still she kept running.

Despite the tears running down her face, she kept running, because she had to save herself, or else the zombification of her people would be for naught. 

Somewhere along the line, somehow, Branch managed to catch up with her and grasped her hand tightly as she ran. 

Poppy squeezed it back, more grateful than words would say that she was not doing this alone. 

And so the two trolls ran, hands clasped tightly, as far and as fast as they could, no plan, nearly no supplies, and no idea of what was waiting for them outside the forest of Troll Village.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that night, as Creek lay down in his old pod, having sent his new people off to do various jobs for him, he noticed an old picture of him and Poppy, taken long before the incident with the Bergens. 

Picking it up, he couldn't help but allow his eyes to linger on her face. Her warm, kind, cunning face.

He booped the nose of the photo with a smirk.

He may have lost her somewhere during his takeover of Pop Village, not unexpected, considering how focused he had gotten during it, yet disappointing all the same, but he'd have her back, one way or another.

Whether she liked it or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And once again its like 1:30 AM and i am at a loss for what to say about this chapter. I don't know how often I'll be updating this since there i'm also working on other fics, not to mention I'm going into this one without an outline, so i guess we'll just see how it goes. I'll see y'all later!
> 
> -CC


	3. Ice Has Melted Back to Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy and Branch get far away enough that they feel safe taking a breather to try and figure out the next step. Thankfully, it turns out they're not the only ones that managed to escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is like all i have planned out so far so like if y'all got any ideas please feel free to comment them to me like idk where to go from here lmao. Also small Creek warning bc he's only in this chapter a little bit, but not much lol. We do get some Cooper though!!! I hope that I'm able to do him justice bc I've never written him before 😅 Hope y'all enjoy!

"Poppy, I think this is far enough," Branch panted, slowing down to lean on a tree stump.

Poppy didn't want to stop. She didn't want to stop until she knew they were a safe distance away. But her lungs and legs were screaming, so she reluctantly plopped down next to him.

They had been running through the forest for the better part of an hour, knowing that turning back wasn't an option. 

As Poppy gasped for air, she tried not to focus too hard on what just happened. She tried not to think about how nearly everyone she ever knew and cared about was under Creek's control, unable to do anything unless he told them to. She tried not to think about her friends, helpless to stop him. She tried not to think about her dad, who'd looked so ashamed about keeping all this from her, from everyone, for years and years.

She sighed shakily. This was really hard to not think about.

Branch noticed her having a moment and took a knee next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

Poppy let out a humorless laugh. "You know Branch, I'm really not."

Branch opened his mouth to apologize for asking, after all, it was a pretty dumb question, but she continued. "But that makes sense, right? Because I mean, who would be okay in this situation? My crown's been stolen, my people zombified, and the worst person in the entirety of trolldom is the cause for all of it!" He voice steadily grew more and more panicked. "And I just abandoned my people, who have been nothing but wonderful to me my entire life, just so I could escape! I'm just as bad as Creek!"

"Woah, hey, you're nowhere as bad as-"

"And now, we're out here with no supplies, no clue as to what Creek's goal is, and no idea where to go from here! I mean what are we gonna do?!?!?" Poppy cried, running her hands through her hair stressfully.

Branch sighed, unsure of what to say as Poppy lost it beside him, tears flowing from her eyes. Emotional support had never really been his strong suit, in both receiving it and giving it to others, and it always felt like just pointless optimism that didn't actually help. But he knew he couldn't sit by idly and just watch his best friend suffer.

Slowly, awkwardly, he lifted up one of his arms and wrapped it around Poppy's shaking shoulders. He patted her shoulder and stiffly assured her, "There, there, it's gonna be okay, we'll, uh, figure something out?"

Poppy snorted, wiping her eyes. "You're really bad at this, Branch," she commented with a sad smile. "But.... thanks. It really means a lot."

Branch returned the smile.

“GUYS!! GUYS!!!!”

Poppy’s ears perked up as Branch instinctively went into protection mode, jumping in front of her. She, however, gently pushed him away, her face covered in confused hopefulness. “Is that......?”

Branch listened to the voices cries, a little more intently this time, and his eyes widened. “It can’t be.....” he mumbled.

That's when, from a couple of nearby bushes, burst a bright pink troll, with blue hair and a green cap, coming in at terminal velocity. 

"Cooper!"

"Guys!!" Cooper exclaimed, a relieved grin forming on his face as he skidded to a stop and threw his front legs around his friends in a warm hug.

Poppy and Branch physically couldn't help but hug back tightly. 

"Cooper, I'm so glad to see you," Poppy said with a sigh of relief. "How did you escape without getting zapped by Creek?"

Cooper snickered before replying, "Oh no, I absolutely _did _get zapped."__

__Before he could understand what was going on, Cooper found himself pushed to the ground onto his back, with Branch holding a sharpened stitch up to his face._ _

__"Alright, zombie," he spat, "what's your deal? Were you followed? What does-"_ _

__"Woah, Branch, wait!!" Poppy protested, tugging at Branch's arm in an attempt to pull him away and calm him down. "He's not a zombie! Look at his eyes!"_ _

__Reluctantly, Branch complied, finding that Cooper's eyes were, in fact, not glowing pink. In fact, the most out of place thing about him was the fresh streaks of tears prominent on his cheeks._ _

__Branch flushed with embarrassment as he took a step back and held his hand out for Cooper to take, looking away. "...Sorry about that, man."_ _

__"Don't worry about it, buddy," Cooper assured him, taking his hand and pulling himself back to his feet._ _

__"Cooper, what happened back there?"_ _

__"Well, you see, Poppy, it's a bit of a long story..."_ _

__\----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ _

_Cooper stood frozen in fear as he watched Creek hit various trolls with a beam of high powered music._

_He'd honestly forgotten that Creek existed for a while there, but now that he was back, Cooper was having trouble believing that this was the same Creek that had been his good friend, several trolls' good friend, in fact, for so long._

_He had significantly less trouble believing that it was the same troll that sold them out to the Bergens for his own freedom, though._

_Eventually, some random troll bumped into him as they tried to escape, and Cooper remembered how to move again. He bolted away, desperate to find any sort of hiding spot, but then Creek jumped in front of his path, the lyre pointed directly at him._

_"Oh, I'm terribly sorry about this, Cooper," Creek said unapologetically, "but this is for your own good._

_And then he fired._

_Cooper stumbled back from the impact of the beam. He waited a moment for the zombification to set in._

Huh _, he thought,_ this feels a lot less zombie-like than I thought it would be. 

_Creek stared at him in shock for a moment. Did it not work anymore? Had the string run out of power? To test this, he turned and fired at the nearest troll, which happened to be Legsly. She was shot down to the ground for a moment before perking back up with bright pink eyes and an unsettling smile._

_Cooper noticed the opportunity for escape and ran into the woods, as fast as his legs would carry him._

_Creek watched him go for a moment and shrugged, turning around to blast other trolls. Surely one less zombie wouldn't be too big of an issue..._

___\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------_ _ _

___"Huh, I guess that wasn't actually all that long," Cooper giggled._ _ _

___Poppy couldn't help but gape at him in awe. "The string just.... didn't work on you? How is that even possible?!?"_ _ _

___"Uh, guys? I think I might've figured out why," Branch said, the scrapbook he stole from Creek laying open in his hands._ _ _

Poppy and Cooper peeked into the book. Branch was pointing to an image of a different troll from each tribe. Poppy easily identified the pop troll, as Creek had called them, but the others were very different from anything she ever could've imagined. Like, one seemed to have fins? Another had the torso of a regular troll but with the body of something four-legged? Another still was smaller than the rest and had wings???? It was absolutely mind-boggling to her.

"Hey..." Cooper mumbled, pointing to a troll with a longer neck and four legs, "that one kinda looks like me..."

Branch nodded. "Yeah, I thought so too."

"So, you think Cooper might be a... uh, not a pop troll?"

"I mean, it does make a lot of sense. I mean, if he's not a pop troll, then maybe that's why the string's power didn't work on him."

"And that's why I look so different..." Cooper trailed off, trying to process this new information with a furrowed brow. "W-What kind of troll _am_ I?"

Branch flipped through the pages of the book for a moment. "Uhhhh... it looks like you're a funk troll, bud."

"Really? " Cooper looked at the page, a little awestruck at the whole situation. "I guess I always have been a bit.... _funkier_ than anyone else. And there really aren't any. other trolls like me in Troll Village."

"Oh shoot, do we need to stop calling it Troll Village now? Since we, you know, aren't the only trolls anymore."

Branch shrugged. "Beats me."

"I know!" Cooper exclaimed, causing the other two to jump a bit at the sudden sound. "Wee go find these funk trolls and we ask for their help!"

Branch sucked air through his teeth with a grimace, closing the scrapbook and tucking it under his arm as he asked, "Is that really the best idea, though? I mean, we don't know anything about these new trolls, they might not want anything to do with us at best. We don't know what these guys are capable of."

"Sure, but Cooper's one of them, right?" Poppy pointed out. "Maybe they'll be more willing to listen to one of their own?"

"We don't know that for sure, Poppy."

"What other choice do we have? It's not like wee can go back and get help and supplies. We need help, Branch, and I think the funk trolls might be able to give that to us. Even if they can't, or even if they won't, we won't know unless we find them."

With a sigh, Branch turned to Cooper. "What do you think we should do, Cooper?"

Cooper brought one of his legs to his chin and thought about it long and hard for a moment. Finally, after few tense seconds of silence, he spoke up. "I think.... I think we should go find these funk trolls. I want to know more about where I came from, and we need to see if they can help us stop Creek."

Groaning defeatedly, Branch reopened the scrapbook and started flipping through the pages. "Guess we gotta find where the funk trolls live," he grumbled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized i can split the chapter i was planning in half so I won't be completely out of ideas yet lmao. Anyway I hope you like this chapter and I hope I did Cooper justice (i didn't want him to be too much of a himbo but he still needed that Cooper-ish charm lol) anyway, feel free to drop your ideas in the comments lol, i will definitely consider them (UNLESS YOU ARE A CREEK APOLOGIST THEN DNI PLZ) I'll see y'all next time!!!
> 
> -CC

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah ok so that's a thing I wrote, hope y'all enjoy, it's a bit more of a prologue than an actual chapter but that's how it be sometimes lol. I will try to get into the actual plot stuff next chapter in addition to making it longer but uh, yeah there we go. See y'all next time!
> 
> -CC


End file.
